


Dormir

by emilyhbr4



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 16:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8292368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyhbr4/pseuds/emilyhbr4
Summary: Inspired by a tumblr post, I bring you Sonny who is hopelessly in love with Nina, but has a bedtime. Enjoy!





	

Sonny looked into the mirror, fixed his hat and smoothed down his shirt. He needed to look nice for Nina. She was leaving in two days; so a few people were heading to the park to hang out. He was hoping there would be more than just ‘hanging out’.

When he was done fixing his hair, Sonny ran down the apartment stairs to the bodega, where Usnavi was standing at the counter, wiping it down. He tried to sneak past him, but Usnavi noticed everything. “What’s with the button down? You gotta hot date?” Usnavi asked sarcastically.

“Nah, I’m going to meet Nina. I told ya before,” Sonny muttered.

“Right, right,” Usnavi nodded. “You’re working overtime tomorrow.”

Sonny sighed, “Aw, come on ‘snavi.”

“And you’ll be home by eight,” Usnavi continued.

“No,” Sonny whined. “Don’t do this to me.”

“You know what you’re like when you don’t get enough sleep!”

“Usnavi you can’t keep treating me like a baby! I’m fifteen! Eight is way too early!”

“Eight o’clock,” Usnavi snapped. “That’s your bedtime and I’m keeping it that way. Everyone in the barrio knows, so don’t even try to come home late. Understand?”

“Fine,” Sonny said with an edge to his voice. He wanted to leave and slam the door behind him, but he couldn’t. With a sheepish look, he asked, “Can I have some money?”

Usnavi rolled his eyes and threw a ten his way. “Go have fun.” Sonny smiled and left the bodega, the little bells above the door ringing behind him. Usnavi was tough on him, but he was just trying to instil a good work ethic in the boy. By making him come home by eight, Sonny would be well rested for work the next day. Plus, he wouldn’t be hurt. The city wasn’t safe at night. Sonny thought that being fifteen meant he was grown up, but Usnavi knew that he wasn’t. He could be mugged, attacked, or murdered by being out too late in the city. Usnavi wasn’t going to let that happen.

~

“Look at you, man!” Pete exclaimed when he met up with Sonny on the way to the park. “All dressed up for Nina?”

“No. Shut up!” Sonny laughed. “She was my babysitter. That would be weird.”

“More like hot,” Pete mentioned, elbowing him in the side. “I won’t intrude.” He held his hands up like he was defenseless. “But if you get a college girl, you’re going to be my wingman forever, okay?”

“You got it man,” Sonny replied with a smile. He was started to get excited at the idea. In the back of his mind, he knew it would be too good to be true, but he still needed to try.

When they arrived at their spot in the park, Sonny and Pete had decided to be ‘fashionably late’, so everyone else was already there. Vanessa, Nina, and Benny sat on a park bench, talking and laughing.

Sonny wrinkled up his nose and whispered to Pete, “She brought Benny.”

“Play it cool, dude,” Pete replied. Then, he called out, “Vanessa!” 

“Pete!” She called back with a smile and stood up to hug him. Then, when he gave her a suggestive look, she said with a sing song voice, “Still too old for you!”

“Still hopelessly in love with you,” he responded, clearly just trying to have fun with her.

“Keep dreaming,” she said with a smirk.

“It’s good to see you, Nina,” Sonny said with his hands in his pocket. He took a seat on the bench next to her while Benny was on the other side. His competition.

“Why so dressed up, De La Vega?” Nina asked, her eyes sparkling.

“What, can’t a guy just look nice?” Sonny scoffed. 

“Sure you can. I’m just making an observation,” she smiled. “You look good.”

“Thanks.” Sonny smiled and bit his lip. They talked for awhile about seemingly everything in the neighborhood. Vanessa would chime in with her salon gossip and Pete, being the good guy he is, tried to justify every stupid action their friends made. Benny was a few years older than the rest of them, so he just sat and listened, smiling and laughing at everything Nina said. Sonny pretended not to notice, but it was clear he was doing the exact same thing.

“Are you excited about college? I’m sure you’ll do great.” Sonny eventually asked.

“Do great?” Benny chimed in, placing an arm around Nina. “She’s going to change the world someday.”

Nina looked at Benny like he was her whole world. Sonny shrunk into himself. “Aw, come on, stop.” She looked extremely flattered and unfortunately, as Sonny noticed, in love. 

“It’s true! You’re a genius!” Sonny boasted, trying to keep up with Benny.

“Sonny...” Nina said with a look on her face that someone would give their little brother. 

“Yeah little dude, are you in love with her or something?” Benny asked sarcastically. Little did he know what Sonny was truly feeling. 

His face turned a bright red. “I-uh, I...” He stammered. Nina hit Benny on the upside of the head. “I should go,” he stated. Then, he began to run down the park path without turning back and a few tears streaming down his face. 

“What the heck did you just do?” Nina yelled.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Benny apologized. 

“Oh man, Nina, what time is it?” Pete asked. 

She checked her watch. “7:45, why?” Her face turned white. “Oh, shit. I totally forgot.” Nina never swore, so Benny gave her a concerned look.

“What’s the big deal?” He asked.

“Sonny has a bedtime, and it’s 8:00. He has to be home,” Nina explained. Benny tried to stifle a laugh.

“Hey, don’t laugh. I know it’s weird, but Usnavi’s just a bit overprotective. He just doesn’t want Sonny to get hurt,” Nina said.

“Okay, I can understand that,” Benny replied. “The city is dangerous, especially for a kid.”

“We need to go find him,” Nina demanded, standing up and grabbing her purse.

“We can split up, Nina and I can go one way and-” Benny began, but Nina quickly interrupted.

“Benny, you know I love you, but I don’t think you should come. He probably won’t want to see you and-” 

This time, it was Benny’s turn to interrupt Nina. “It’s okay, I understand.” He kissed her on the cheek and she blushed profusely. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

~

Usnavi stared at the clock. It read 8:15, and with every second that passed he became more worried. At 8:16, he couldn’t help but call Abuela Claudia. “Abuela, I don’t know what to do. He’s still not home. I would call him, but I couldn’t afford to pay the cell bill this month. What if something really bad happened to him?”

“Don’t worry,” she replied with a soothing tone. “There are eyes on Sonny all over the barrio. He’ll be home soon. He’s probably just going through that rebellious teenage phase.”

“I can’t believe I’m raising a teenager. I’m only twenty two,” Usnavi sighed.

“Mijo, you’re doing a great job with Sonny. Trust his judgement tonight. Paciencia y fe.”

“It’s not his judgement that I’m worried about...”

~

Sonny was walking but he didn’t have a destination. At some point along the way, somebody from the other side of the street yelled to him, “Sonny! Dormir! Go home!”

He stuck his headphones in ears and blocked out the world. He was so embarrassed. The girl that he had loved since he was seven years old saw him as nothing more than an annoying, little brother type. To make matters worse, he had a ‘bedtime’ that everyone knew about. 

His feet brought him to the bridge. He used to come to the bridge all the time to think, especially when things were going wrong in his life. He thought about his parents a lot at the bridge. The stars reminded him of them. You could see more stars at the bridge than anywhere else in the city.

Sonny lost track of time eventually. All he could do was stare straight ahead and look at the ripples of the water and the stars. Even though part of him wanted to, he couldn’t make himself move. 

“I told you he’d be here,” Sonny heard from off in the distance. It was Pete, who was now hovering over him while Vanessa and Nina were off to the side. “Man, how’d you get here so fast? The three of us were basically running.”

“I know a shortcut,” Sonny mumbled.

“Of course you do,” Nina replied with smile. Remembering the previous incident, Sonny’s face turned bright red again and he turned to look away from Nina. “Hey,” she said, bending down to his level. “I’m sorry I can’t love you the way you want me to. But, if it’s any consolation, I do love you. You know that, right?”

Sonny nodded. He knew he was being stupid. “I know,” he whispered. Nina made him melt.

“Let’s get you home.” Nina helped him up and Pete and Vanessa smiled at one another. He was okay.

~

The clock read 8:45 now, and Usnavi had basically lost it. He was calling everyone he knew, panicking about where Sonny might be. He was about a second away from calling the police.

“Hi, uh, Mr. Rosario?” Usnavi stammered. “Have you seen Sonny? He’s not home yet and I’m really worried about him.” There was a pause as Mr. Rosario replied. Usnavi frowned. “Okay, thanks anyways. Let me know if you see him, will you? Thanks again.”

Usnavi hung up the phone and became completely distraught. If this was a joke on Sonny’s part, then it certainly wasn’t funny. He had just dialed 9-1 when the little bells above the bodega door jingled. 

“Oh thank god,” Usnavi sighed. Sonny walked through the door along with Nina, Vanessa, and Pete. Usnavi ran toward him and wrapped him up in a hug. “Never do that to me ever again.”

“I’m sorry,” Sonny apologized, though the sound was muffled by Usnavi’s shirt.

“I was scared to death, mijo. I can’t lose you too.” Usnavi gripped him tighter and kissed him on the top of his head. If Sonny didn’t know any better, he would have thought Usnavi was tearing up.

“I’m sorry, ‘snavi, I really am. But I’m okay,” Sonny replied, pulling away to look at him. “I was upset and I lost track of time. I’m sorry I made you nervous.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me,” Usnavi said, finally cracking a smile. “Now, go up and get ready for bed.” Sonny looked at Nina and then sent a desperate glance to his cousin. “Now,” Usnavi emphasized.

“Goodnight, Sonny,” Nina said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sonny burst into a wide grin and basically ran up the stairs. If having bedtime meant a kiss from Nina, then he could certainly learn to live with that.


End file.
